Molecular basis for the overproduction of 5-enolpyruvylshikimate 3-phosphate synthase in a glyphosate-tolerant cell suspension culture of Corydalis sempervirens.

Cell cultures of Corydalis sempervirens adapted to growth in the presence of 5 mM glyphosate [N-(phosphonomethyl)glycine] display a 30- to 40-fold increase in the cellular content of 5-enolpyruvylshikimic acid 3-phosphate (EPSP) synthase, the target enzyme of the herbicide. Translatable mRNA activity as well as transcript levels for EPSP synthase were increased 8-to 12-fold in the adapted (glyphosate-tolerant) as compared to the non-adapted (glyphosate-sensitive) cultures. Northern blot analysis revealed a single 1.8 kb transcript after hybridization with an oligonucleotide probe deduced from the N-terminal amino acid sequence of the enzyme. No significant differences in the relative abundance of EPSP synthase-specific DNA sequences could be detected, however, in Southern and dot blot analyses of restricted DNA isolated from the two cultures. We conclude that the overproduction of EPSP synthase in glyphosate-tolerant C. sempervirens cells is not based on the amplification of the corresponding gene.